The Search
by Dragon XD
Summary: Naruto decides to look for something beyond his homeland. WARNING: This fic contains no relationships and characters act pretty much like they're supposed to.


Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Once Piece, that's Kishimoto and Oda

Chapter 1: The Question

It was perhaps the greatest fight in all of shinobi history. A battle that had been destined since the night of October 10th, sixteen years ago was being waged. On one side was Naruto Uzumaki, the last jinchuuriki and destined child, prophesized to bring peace to the world. On the other was Sasuke Uchiha, the product of a centuries old feud that dated back to the founder of ninjutsu's children, determined to avenge his family.

It shook the mountains and tore holes in the land that would become new lakes, rivers, and miniature oceans. The shockwaves from the early clashes knocked away the clouds and set the animals to running as trees were uprooted from the resulting winds.

A nine-tailed fox battled Susanoo, shattering the construct before the demon's manifestation was consumed in black fire. Then Naruto threw the strength of his sage mode against Sasuke's Sharingan reflexes.

Lightning techniques were cut apart by wind chakra, which were devoured by fire style jutsu and in turn countered with Rasengan. Sasuke's unmatched skills were pitted against Naruto's limitless raw power.

One day passed…then another…and continued for four more after that, the fighters were approaching their limits. Unable to take the constant strain nature chakra put on his body, Naruto's turned back to normal as he created one last clone. With his chakra reserves running low, Sasuke's Sharingan faded to be replaced by his normal eyes while a Chidori blazed in his hands.

In the end, it came down to a battle not of jutsu, skill, or strength between two young men, but determination. Both were unwilling to compromise an inch in their beliefs…or let the fight in differently than it had the _other_ three times that they had battled over the years.

The fighters charged and clashed. Swirling chakra crashed into piercing lighting. A wish for destruction battled a hope for salvation…

The crash to the two jutsu stung Naruto's eyes as nothing but white filled his vision, bringing tears. Then, his body lurched and everything went numb. The faint sound of someone calling his name reached his ears, but Naruto wasn't sure who it was through the ringing that the attacks colliding caused him to experience.

When he felt himself hit the water of the river that had been formed by their battle, Naruto closed his eyes and waited for the end to come.

_So this is how it ends_.

Death felt strange to Naruto, almost as if he were steadily sinking into a deep ocean. With his body too sore to move, he let the weight of his gear drag him deeper into the darkness.

_Did I…do the right thing_? Naruto asked himself as he remembered what had brought him to this point.

-One Week Ago-

Naruto couldn't help but feel a bit nervous as he stood before the five Kages and their conference table. After the Akatsuki had been dealt with a half a year ago, Gaara and the others decided that it was best for everyone if the united shinobi army stayed. There had been some opposition from some people outside the army, but Naruto hadn't heard anything about that since he came back from his training to fully synch with Kurama, so he was sure it had all been cleared up by now.

But that wasn't what made him nervous, it was the atmosphere of the room. His training had allowed him to hone his extrasensory perception, and he could almost see a dark cloud over the heads of the council.

"So, what's my first mission now that I'm back?" Naruto asked with a grin. "Body guard duty? Border patrols? Ohhh, do I get to hunt down a dangerous gang of bandits?"

Tsunade's frown and Sakura's hesitant face made Naruto's good demeanor evaporate in the wake of his confusion. "Naruto, as your final mission, you are being assigned to the assassination squad charged with the elimination of Sasuke Uchiha. Once this is completed, I will step down as Hokage, and you will be taking my place."

"What?" Naruto shouted. "But why are we going after Sasuke now? It's been half a year since-"

The Raikage slammed his fist down on the table. "DO NOT QUESTION MY ORDERS!" he yelled. "You are a shinobi, a tool of this council, now carry out your duty! UCHIA SASUKE TOOK MY ARM, AND IF YOU ARE A SHINOBI THEN YOU WILL TAKE HIS HEAD!"

Once the man a finally stopped shouting, Tsunade took a moment to frown at the larger man that was her superior, then turned her attention to Naruto. "This is your final test to become Hokage," she told him. "After all this time, we have finally united the world under a single banner. Uchiha is the last piece of the old world that needs to be done away with to create an eternity of peace. If you truly wish to take my place, you must be able to realize this and bring it about."

-Present-

_What am I doing here_? Naruto asked himself before he answered his own question. He wanted to be Hokage, it was his dream, his only goal in life.

As the memory faded, worlds from an older echoed in Naruto's mind. "_I'll bring Sasuke back to the Leaf, without killing him, no matter what_!"

"_I never go back on my word_."

But, when it came down to it, he threw his beliefs, his ninja way, and for what?

"_Because people become acknowledged, they become Hokage_," _Itachi told him_.

Then what of the acknowledgement of a man, of a people, he didn't agree with? Was _that_ the path to the Hokage, to bow down to another's way of thought, even that way of thought was wrong?

What was the point of becoming a leader if all that person did was follow the previous Hokage's shadow?

"_We'll keep what Madara said to ourselves to avoid conflict_," _Kakashi told him_.

Mistrust…deceit…hatred…and old grudges…despite the formation of the Leaf, all of these things were carried into the new world that the older generations had attempted to build by founding the villages.

The familiar power of the Nine-Tails pulsed on the edge of his consciousness. "_**Take it boy**_," Kurama's voice echoed in his mind.

_Why_? Naruto asked the demon before he closed his eyes and stopped holding in his breath.

"_**TAKE IT**_," Kurama shouted. "_**DO YOU WANT TO DIE**_?"

Did he? After battling Sasuke in order to take the position of Hokage…reneging on his promises to Sakura, Itachi, and even himself in order to fulfill his childhood goal… After seeing the truth of the ninja world…did he really want to continue to exist within it?

"_I'll bear the burden of your hatred…and on that day, if we both end up dying, then we won't be an Uchiha and a jinchuuriki. We'll be free of all our burdens…and then we'll be able to understand each other in the next world_!"

From saving a friend, to killing him…from unshakable, to compromising…from a way that was just and true, to one of lies and broken words…

_Yes…_Naruto told the creature that shared his body. _This is the proper end for a man who abandons his principles_. _Wait for me Sasuke, I'll be right behind you._

Naruto closed his eyes, and let the darkness take him…

…

…

…

…and was pretty surprised when he felt a pair of lips covering his own mouth, then an irrespirable urge to cough made him roll over and eject the water that was filling his lungs.

"Naruto, you're alive!"

After expelling another mouthful of water, Naruto looked over to the girl who'd just said his name and waited for his vision to clear. "Sakura?"

The girl in question didn't even try to hide her tears as Naruto saw her looking down on him. "You're alive, thank god."

_Sakura…I forgot about Sakura_, Naruto told himself. He closed his eyes and sighed. It was a disturbing revelation. In his acceptance of his orders and willingness to die, Naruto realized that he had forgotten about the third member of their circle. "I'm such a fool."

"Stop trying to move damnit!"

Naruto groaned. "I'm not moving Sakura," he said before opening his eyes and seeing the girl had turned away from him.

"…damn woman," Sasuke's voice cracked on the other side of the medic.

"I SAID DON'T MOVE!" she shouted in desperation. "You'll aggravate your injuries! And the same goes for you Naruto!"

Without any other real choice, Naruto obeyed. It wasn't as if he could do anything other than lay there. He didn't even have enough strength to move his fingers.

"Tch, just what the hell are you doing?" Sasuke demanded. "If you think that I'm coming back-"

"I don't care what you're doing later!" Sakura yelled on top of Sasuke's words. "I don't even care if the first thing you do when you get up is to kill me! All I care about right now is saving your life, so shut up and let me do it! Or do you really want to die?"

"…idiot."

To try and lighten the mood, Naruto chuckled, then instantly regretted it when his ribs started aching. "You should listen to her, Sakura's gotten a lot more violent since you left. She might lose her temper, and then you'll be in trouble!"

"**SHUT UP STUPID NARUTO**!" Sakura raged after taking a second to turn back and look at him for trying to kill the moment.

_What's she mad at me for_, the blonde asked himself with tears in his eyes.

"But…there's something I need to know," Sakura told Sasuke when she looked back at him with tears threatening to fall from her eyes again. "Why are you doing this? When we heard you had killed Orochimaru, I was so happy I thought my heart was going to burst. But instead of coming home, you went looking for Itachi…and then…we heard you had joined Akatsuki. You attacked the summit, and killed Danzo, and…and you…you even tried to kill me! _Why_ Sasuke? What changed you so much?"

Sasuke didn't even bother to look at her. "Nothing has changed," he told her. "My ambition remains the same as the day we became Team 7. If anything, it's only gotten stronger, along with my hatred."

"But _why_?" Sakura demanded.

"_We'll keep what Madara said to ourselves to avoid conflict_."

Naruto closed his eyes and sighed as Kakashi's words rang in his ears. "It's because," Naruto began as he told Sakura the whole story as had heard it from Madara and been shown by his mother.

As soon as Naruto was done, Sasuke began. "All of Konoha stood by while my family was blamed and ostracized! The Leaf sent my brother to war when he was eight years old, and made him kill his own family out of fear of another great war, and THEN LIED TO TRICK ME INTO KILLING HIM!" he raged while Naruto looked away.

"Sasuke…" Sakura whispered.

"So tell me to come _home_ to the people who falsely accused my family Sakura!" the Uchiha shouted.

"…I'm…"

"Tell Me To Serve The People That Ordered My Clan's Death!"

"…so…"

"TELL ME TO IGNORE THE SMILES THAT WERE BUILT ON THE MUDER OF MY PARENTS!"

"…sorry," Sakura sobbed.

Sasuke frowned at the girl. "What?"

"I have parents that love me," Sakura told him. "And so I probably never will be able to understand the pain you're feeling. So in the end, all I can do is give you my sympathies. And…tell you I'm sorry." With what he had just said, Sakura had no illusions of Sasuke ever coming back into the fold…even if it did become possible through some miracle decision.

Sasuke was silent for a moment. "Tch, do you really think that changes anything?"

With their conversation over, Naruto spoke up. "Hey Sakura, how long do you think till I can move again?"

The out of the blue and completely unrelated question made the pink-haired girl frown at Naruto. She did the mental calculations for the downtime when chakra exhaustion mixed with pure physical exhaustion. "I dunno. Maybe an hour or two, why?"

Naruto didn't answer her. _An hour and a half…_

"_How would you confront this hatred to obtain peace_?" _Pain asked as Naruto lay on the dirt in front of him_.

"_Pain killed our teacher Jiraiya_," _Naruto's father said_. "_But if you think about it, you could say that the whole shinobi world is just as guilty_."

"Sasuke…do you…hate this world?" Naruto asked.

"What kind of stupid question is that?" he replied.

"_Resentment towards the village over the fallout of the Nine-Tails attack, the discrimination they faced, caused the Uchiha to plot a rebellion_. _Only, the village struck first, using Itachi as their weapon," the fake Madara explained as he looked down at Naruto_. "_But it goes back even further than that._"

The 1st Hokage battled Madara when Madara became jealous of his position of power and died from his wounds, so the 2nd Hokage hated the Uchiha and placed them in a position of servitude within the police. Then, Tobi attacked the village, and the Uchiha took the blame and created more resentment, which lead to the plan to overthrow the Leaf, and the massacre.

Although Tobi had acted as the trigger, everything he needed to get the ball rolling had already been there. In truth, Naruto didn't think what happened could have been avoided, even if the village had never been attacked.

"_We'll keep what Madara said to ourselves to avoid conflict_," _Kakashi ordered_.

Mistrust…deceit…hatred…and old grudges…despite the formation of the Leaf, all of these things were carried into the new world that the older generations had attempted to build by founding the villages.

"_As long as the system of shinobi remains in place, there will never be peace_," _the Fourth told him._

"I think I hate it too," Naruto told him. "We may have begun a new era, and everyone may sit at the same table, but in the end…nothing's really changed. It's exactly like what happened with the Leaf. The Raikage took the position as head of the army, and although there are four other Kages, he's making all the decisions. The position of authority he wields over the others is causing resentment to grow. Eventually, the shinobi nation will turn on itself"

Sakura looked over to Naruto with a somber expression. "Now that you mention it…I think it's already happening," she mumbled. As the Hokage's previous apprentice and current aide, she had been privy to all of the council meetings in public, and the ones behind closed doors as well.

After the war ended and the Grand Shinobi Army was founded, there had been a big mess to clean up as the Akatsuki had drawn everyone's attention away from the usual problems like bandits. Still, since none of the shinobi had to worry about tripping over other ninja, such things were easily taken care of. But once all that was finished and order had been reestablished, the shinobi had been at a loss of what to do.

How was the army supposed to function without an enemy to fight?

Sakura had even seen a few letters from the Lord of Fire asking Tsunade if he and his fellow leaders should order the disillusion of the army. Although, she had to wonder if the shinobi would even obey such an order. Although the villages existed inside their respective lands, they were an autonomous force at the end of the day. If someone actually ordered the army to break up again…she didn't know if the Kages would actually do it.

Council meetings started to become more like a forum for bringing up old grievances than dealing with new developments. Shinobi that defected to other villages were the first main talking point, as their home villages demanded they be brought forth to face execution for their desertion.

When the infighting began to pick up, the Raikage had started bringing up the subject of missing ninja. He reminded everyone of the Akatsuki, and how they nearly brought down the world. So rouge ninja that hadn't joined with another of the great villages became the new unifying force behind the army. Which brought Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura to where they were now.

_But what happens when they're all gone_? Sakura asked herself. _What happens when there are no more distractions from the underlying problems_?

Would the Raikage look to the other villages that weren't part of the joint army as a means to keep his power by making more enemies? Would he step down from the head of everything if challenged by another Kage?

And if he didn't, which Sakura was sure he wouldn't… _It really will be the Leaf all over again_, she realized. But instead of a single clan, it would the force of an entire ninja village that rebelled, and Sakura doubted the forces from other villages would stand by no matter what the outcome.

"Sasuke, mind if I ask you something?" Naruto said.

"…depends, are you idiots going to finally shut up afterwards?" Having to lay next to Naruto was one thing, but having to listen to him and Sakura prattle on was sheer torture.

Naruto looked over to the other shinobi. "How would you bring about world peace?"

"_Seriously_?" Sasuke grumbled with a disgusted look on his face and in his tone. When Naruto just kept looking at him, the Uchiha turned his head back up to the sky. "What the hell makes you even think I care about something like that?"

Naruto gave him a tired sigh. "Look, we've got about an hour until either of us can move, so can you humor me for a second here…or I can try singing-"

"God I forgot how annoying you were," the other ninja told him. "Fine, here's my answer: you're a fool. There will never be such a thing as peace in this world. What you idiots are wishing for is impossible."

"Is that why, you're in such a hurry to rush to your death?" Naruto asked quietly. As Sakura shot her head to look over at Sasuke and he glared at both of them, Naruto closed his eyes and sighed. "When we met that day under the bridge, I asked you if you could read my heart that day. But that also works the other way too Sasuke. Challenging a village on your own, fighting tailed beasts, and attacking the Kages…you've lost all hope for this world, haven't you? You don't care about the future, and are just picking fights while trying to find the one that will finish you."

The oversimplification of his self made Sasuke roll his eyes. "If you actually think something like understanding others is enough to change me, then you really are an idiot."

Naruto shook his head. Knowing that someone understood his pain was enough to cure Naruto of his loneness, because in the end all he wanted was for someone to understand him, and tell him he mattered. When Iruka did that, his suffering came to an end.

But people were different, and what worked for one or two people didn't work for everyone. While Naruto had wanted to be understood, Sasuke wanted revenge for the pain inflicted on him and his family.

"No…I think that was Jiraiya's answer to hatred. But just understand others isn't enough. Even if you know the depths of a person's heart and show them you understand, that doesn't mean that it will make their hatred disappear. People all have their own desires, and when these desires interfere with one another, people fight over who should get the preferred result. Like when I wanted you to come home, while you wanted to burn it down. In the end, understanding can't solve the world's problems…it just makes them easier to point out."

A small laugh escaped Sasuke's lips when he heard Naruto walking in the past tense. "So you've _finally_ given up on me then? I don't think I can take another one of these stupid talks with you." He glanced over to Sakura. "Since I still can't move, this would be your best time to kill me. If I walk away from this, I'll make sure you don't get another chance. If you want to bring peace to the world, then kill me Naruto."

"I told you to stop talking like that!" Sakura shouted before she pulled in on herself and rested her head on her knees.

"_As long as the system of shinobi remains in place, there will never be peace_," _the Fourth told him_.

"_I'll kill Sasuke, it's up to YOU to make sure it stop there_!" _the Raikage said_.

"And peace brought about by force solves nothing either," Naruto replied to Sasuke's suggestion. "If I were to kill you, I would hate myself, and that hatred would grow to encompass the people that ordered me to do it. Then one day in the future, that anger would burst out, and I would kill them too, and then someone else would hate me, and it would continue."

Naruto licked his lips to try and get some moisture back into them as he wracked his brain for an answer. Although his body still hurt, Naruto reached up to take off his headband. It wasn't the one Iruka had given him, that was a good luck charm safely stored in his pack. After the countries got together, they had replaced the symbols of the villages with the lettering for shinobi and Naruto had gotten his after the war.

"_A shinobi isn't supposed to have his own goals. They're merely tools for the country to use_," _Kakashi explained as they stood over Zabuza's grave._

But they _weren't _tools. Tools didn't have wants or needs. Tools didn't shed tears or feel pain. Tools didn't have dreams.

"_I'm going to follow my own ninja way, a way that good and true_!"

How long had it been since he made that deliration to Zabuza and Haku's graves?

More importantly, how long had it taken to break it? When he followed Kakashi's orders about not to tell anyone? Or was it before that?

"Sasuke…are you willing to make another deal with me?" Naruto asked.

The other ninja groaned in annoyance. "I thought I told you to shut up after I answered your stupid question."

"My old master Jiraiya traveled the world for years trying to find an answer to the hatred of this world," Naruto told him. "But, his answer for people to understand one another…it was incomplete. Nagato's answer of using fear to create peace was too costly.

"So…three years. Give me three years!" Naruto begged, drawing the attention of both ninja sitting with him. "When you left Konoha, you got three years with Orochimaru, so give me three years to find what I need! I know I can find an answer in that amount of time!

"And if those three years become nothing but a lost cause, then I will abandon hope, and join you on the path of revenge," Naruto offered.

Sakura glared down at him. "ARE YOU FUCKING CRAZY?"

As much as Sasuke hated to do it, he had to agree with Sakura. "You're going to what? Run from country to country for three years while I hide out and hope they forget about me? What the hell makes you think I'll even be able to do something like that, much less agree to it."

"That's not going to happen Naruto," Sakura told him. "Right now the only thing keeping the nations together are all the missing ninja that the Raikage is sending people after." She frowned down at the ground. "In fact, the more I think about it…I think the only reason you were sent on this mission was because he knew you'd refuse to kill Sasuke, and then he could make you the next big target."

In a worse case scenario, the Raikage would not only be able to eliminate a future political rival, but he would also be able to put the Nine-Tails into someone who was absolutely loyal to him. It would get rid of Naruto, and give him control over both the remaining beasts.

"_I'll kill Sasuke, it's up to YOU to make sure it stop there_!" _the Raikage said_.

Naruto frowned at the memory. "Yeah, I could definitely see that guy doing something like that." The man was uncompromising, and foolish. Why would anyone bend to his will, when he wouldn't give someone what they wanted? "And if that's the case, then I've already beaten him."

"I already told you, my master searched these lands to try and find the answer," Naruto repeated before he looked back to his forehead protector. "But these lands don't have it."

"So I'll go beyond that. I'll leave these lands behind, and search for my answers out there. And if those lands don't have the answer, then I'll go to the next ones, and the ones after that. I'll put the solution together piece by piece, and come home with the answer in my hands."

He looked over to Sasuke. "And I don't just expect you to sit on your ass. I want you to come with me. Give me three years of your life, and if you ask for it afterwards…I will give you the rest of mine."

Since it seemed Naruto needed a reality check, Sakura felt obligated to give him one. "As nice as that sounds, you know that impossible, right?" she asked. "A few kilometers out to sea, the currents become impossible to navigate and compasses go haywire. If you don't get knocked over by the waves then you get lost and starve to death."

"Actually…I may know someone who can help with that," Sasuke said.

Sakura looked over to glare at him. "You're going along with this stupidity?" the female member of the group yelled.

"Tch, you're the one that talked m into it," Sasuke told her before grinning viciously. "If the united nation really is only holding itself together by attacking others, then I'll disappear for three years. Then, once they've turned on each other, I'll come back and kill the survivors."

_You really have become a cold bastard huh Sasuke_?" Sakura thought while she gave him a disbelieving look. Then, she sighed in defeat and stood up. "Well fine. We should get going before that ANBU squad I knocked out comes to anyway."

Naruto blinked, and looked away from his headband. "Say what?"

"You honestly didn't think they would have sent you after Sasuke with just a tracking squad that pulls out when they find him, did you Naruto?" Sakura asked. "All I had to do was follow them." With two groups of ninja going along the same path and not needing to cover their trail, it had been a simple matter to track them.

She reached own to grab Sasuke and pick him up, then slung him across her shoulder.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?" he demanded.

"Coming with you, duh," Sakura answered before grabbing Naruto and carrying him under her arm. "Without me, you idiots would end up killing each other inside a week." She looked over to Sasuke, "so where're we going?"

Sasuke clamped his mouth shut and looked away from the young woman.

"You know, the ANBU squad is going to come to pretty soon," Sakura reminded him.

As Sakura started walking according to Sasuke's direction's, Naruto threw his shinobi army headband into the river. _Unity brought on by fear, and held together with suspicion isn't the answer either_.

-3 Days Later-

Suigetsu worked the tiller of the small boat, a scowl frozen on his face. He looked down at the two people sitting outside of the boat's 3x5 meter interior that was supposed to be half-assed attempt at a cabin, and frowned. "Why the hell did I agree to help you idiots anyway?" he grumbled.

The pink-haired idiot that actually made him _miss_ Karin, which made Suigetsu make a mental not to ask Sasuke just what the hell happened to her anyway, frowned at the former Mist ninja. "I thought it was that 'do it or I'll kill you' stuff that Sasuke said when we found you at Orochimaru's hideout."

"Nah, he's always saying stuff like that," Suigetsu assured them. Although that overwhelming feeling of terror that usually accompanied such demands _had_ been a lot more intense this time around.

On the other side of the boat, Naruto looked up from the water. "Eh, who cares about that," he said. "What I want to know is, why were we heading along the coastline for like two days? We're just now getting out to sea!"

With such a moronic observation, Suigetsu couldn't stop himself from looking down at the Leaf ninja…who was actually _wearing_ a Leaf headband. _What the hell is up with that_? _I thought everybody in the new nation got some stupid forehead guard with 'Shinobi' printed on it these days_.

"Don't you people know _anything_ about the big wide world?" Suigetsu asked. When their confused faces told him no, the former Mist ninja rolled his eyes. "Okay listen closely dumbasses, its time for oceanic geography 101. About a kilometer away from the mainland, the ocean currents get really fucked up, and compasses stop working. Since there's nothing but a giant mountain to the West that stretches on God knows _how_ long, our choices for leaving are North, South, and East. I went East when I was a kid with my old jonin-sensei as a 'learning experience', it was a big pain in the ass! So that means we go North or South, and since we were more North than South when we left the Land of Lightning, it just makes more sense."

Sakura leaned over the side to look past the cabin and in the direction they were sailing, then turned her attention back to the annoying ninja that Sasuke had brought along. "So…what's to the East?"

"Feh, how the hell should I know?" Suigetsu replied.

Naruto jumped to his feet and angrily pointed at Suigetsu. "Because you just said you went that way when you were a genin!"

Once the boat had stopped its extra rocking caused my the blonde's outburst, Suigetsu's hand reached for a sword that wasn't there, so he had to settle for just frowning at the idiot. "Doesn't mean I actually _found_ anything. About a day away from the sight of land, we ran into this big line of gigantic ships that made weird sounds and threw these stupid metal balls at us. Then we turned around and went home."

"Line of ships…you mean like a blockade?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah," Suigetsu answered. "Sensei said the stuff to the North and South were even worse so, I figure by going that way, all you guys will die and I can go back and look for the seven swords."

Sakura quickly decked the boy as hard as she could without conciously using her teacher's technique, then looked on with revulsion when Suigetsu's head exploded into water, and crawled back up his body to reform.

_Okay…that was gross_, Naruto thought as he scooted away from the guy at the tiller. No wonder Sasuke had opted for being on night watch duty. He got to sleep through the day to avoid Suigetsu.

"Heh, my Clan's special ability allows me to turn into water whenever I need to," Suigetsu told her, almost daring Sakura to start something in the middle of the ocean.

Naruto raised his hand. "Question." When Suigetsu looked over to him, Naruto went ahead and asked, "So, what happens when you need to pee?"

"NARUTO!" Sakura shouted with one of her 'I'm going to scold you then inflict serious bodily harm' kind of faces.

"What? It's a perfectly natural question!" Naruto defended himself before he looked back to Suigetsu. "I mean, does your skin change color or…do you even _need_ to pee, can you just like, spit it out?"

This time Sakura decked her teammate in the back of he head. "That's even more disgusting!" she yelled.

Watching the display, Suigetsu had to wonder if all girls with hair that fell into the redish spectrum were overly violent, or just the ones that Sasuke picked up. _Maybe he has a thing for chicks like that_, Suigetsu told himself.

Although, this one didn't seem to be trying to get in his pants like Karin always did…which was a bit of a letdown for Suigetsu really. He enjoyed messing with the freaky-haired girl. At least her replacement seemed to have buttons that were just as easy to push.

Naruto rubbed his head and looked around to try and find something to distract him from water boy. For a second he thought about trying to fish, but decided against it since the only way to get a fire going was with Sasuke's techniques, and they had no nets to keep the fish in water all day.

Then he looked above the top of the ship's cabin, and frowned when something brown appeared on the horizon. As they got closer, Naruto looked back to Suigetsu to ask him a question. "Hey, what'd you say about a long line of big boats that threw stuff at you?"

"Hmm?" Suigetsu replied before stretching his legs to peer over the cabin's roof and study the horizon. "Ah damnit. I thought these guys weren't supposed to be up here. Well, somebody might as well wake Sasuke up. We're gonna have to fight our way through."

-Navy HQ-

Sengoku sat behind his office desk, doing the most grueling duty of a fleet admiral: paper work. Despite all his strength and power, the endless sheets of thinned wood with their orders and requests would wear him down to nothing by the end of the day.

It was times like this when he wished he could hire secretary for the more monotonous requests such as transfers out of the Grand Line, which were usually disapproved, promotions that would take people into the Line, which usually approved, and moving people around from the Old World to the New and back again.

It was the other requests that really irked him. Five hundred sightings of slave trade by citizens that were ignored. Another thousand requests from numerous other people who'd seen a Celestial Dragon running around with a slave were also ignored. People requesting more of a marine present in the lesser seas were ignored. People reporting the corruption of marines and asking for an investigation were ignored.

Slavery did not exist. The navy was always victorious. The navy was incorruptible. These were the absolute truths of the world.

Anyone who said such things and besmirched the honor of the navy needed to be properly disciplined. It didn't matter that it was true or not.

Sengoku might not have liked it, but it was for the greater good. If the navy and its marines were seen as anything but the ultimate force for justice in the world, everything would fall apart.

The door to his office opened up, and Sengoku was a little disturbed that the appearance of Garp brought him a little relief. He and the old man had their differences, but talking with him was preferable to covering up facts.

The large man adjusted his glasses and held out his hand to the older yet equally sizable man with the trimmed beard before letting Garp take a seat. After offering the man tea, Sengoku inquired as to the purpose of his visit.

"I received this from one of the lower guys and asked to hand it over to you," he said before handing over an opened transponder message envelope.

Sengoku looked at the torn secret message with his name on the outside, then glared at Garp. "What are you doing opening a secret message addressed to me?" he demanded.

Garp let out a laugh. "I don't see what you're so upset about, I open all your mail!"

"WHAT?" Sengoku roared.

"Well, all the ones addressed to me are boring," Garp explained with a shrug. "And I never get anything from my family anymore. That son of mine is so ungrateful! Is it too much to ask for a card once or twice a year?"

Sengoku frowned at the roundabout mention of Garp's troublesome son, then looked at the envelope. "Are you telling me Dragon's on the move again?" he yelled before snatching the envelope out of Garp's hands and looking inside it.

"No, this is just a report from Blockade Group R," the older man said, then leaned forward.

_That's even worse_!Sengoku flinched at the man's words before he took out the papers inside to look at them. Four pictures, and a report detailing the events.

"But the way, I've never heard of that blockade," Garp told him. "I thought we only had five of them right now, and they all have numbers, not letters."

Sengoku looked away from the report and took a moment to consider his options when it came to the fact that Garp had already read the report. "Group R is…special. They're tasked with ensuring no one is allowed to approach a…certain landmass, and ensure the safe delivery of convoys to and from that land. They also…encourage anyone attempting to leave the island to turn back."

"Convoys?" Garp asked, then waved off Sengoku's answer before he could speak it. "Well that's hardly interesting. But what's so special about this island that we've got a whole fleet surrounding it?"

As he studied the man, Sengoku tried to think of the best solution to the problem that was Garp. Half-informed as the man was, he was bound to go digging around for the information; at least until something more interesting came along. It wasn't that Garp wasn't loyal, but if anyone else saw him sniffing around…

Deciding that it was better to keep the information with someone trustworthy instead of letting someone else stumble onto Garp's search and start asking their own questions, Sengoku gave him a basic outline of the situation. "To be honest, it's hardly an island…more like a small continent, it barely fits inside the Gran Line at all."

Garp frowned. "As big as the Grand Line? Then wouldn't _every_ pirate that travels the Line run into…" The man paused as realization dawned on his face. "Oh…I see."

"But that isn't why we're blockaded the island," Sengoku began. "It's the people that live on the island that are the true danger. Most of the warriors from these lands are able to use Haki to varying degrees. But, that is just the tip of the iceberg.

"As you know, for year the Navy has been at work attempting to figure out the Devil Fruits. However, not once has there been an objection by the higher ups such as myself as a waste of time and resources. Why do you suppose that is?" he asked rhetorically.

"It's because we've already seen its possible," Sengoku explained. "This land's inhabitants are capable of using devil fruit powers without devouring the food, and do not display any of the weaknesses."

Garp frowned. "How?"

"If we knew that then we wouldn't need to make deals with them!" the other man roared, remembering being told about the treaty between the Dragons and whatever passed as the lords of that island. "In exchange for resources and other needs, they stay put. Every now and then there are a few people to run away, but the vast majority of them are…taken care of one way or another."

In all honesty, Garp thought the younger man was overreacting. He took a look at the pictures, then back up to Sengoku. "Yes, but…they're just children. Even the reports estimate they can't be older than fourteen…maybe a bit younger considering the girl's…measurements."

Sengoku grunted. "That's a side effect of growing up on their island," he told Garp. "The pressure of that place usually doesn't let people get very…developed." In fact the report said the tallest of the group only measured about 5ft 6in. "But it gives them a natural resilience that more than makes up for a short reach."

There was also the _other_ reason that the people of this land couldn't be allowed to wander the world, the one known only to the supreme commander of the Navy and the nobles that was a thousand times more deadly than their knowledge of the devil fruit powers. For that alone, they had to be removed as fast as possible.

"Send their pictures to the usual offices to have bounties constructed," Sengoku ordered. Then he thought about it for a moment, and waved Garp back. "On second thought, hold that."

He looked back down at the report. If they were heading North, then… "Send their likenesses to our offices in the East Blue. Give orders to have them watched and eliminated if possible. No reason to give them a warning beforehand." If they ended up causing trouble, then he would need to place bounties.

The fact that Sengoku was going so far to violate the usual Navy procedures troubled him. The man wasn't usually like this. "The fact they possess these powers aside, they traveled into a Calm Belt. The chances of them surviving in a stolen and damaged Navy vessel are-"

"Pretty good considering that the ships patrolling that area are experimental models outfitted with sea stone on their lower hulls to hide from sea kings," Sengoku told him. That bit of information he didn't mind telling Garp. Judging by the tests, they would be announced soon enough.

"Now get going," Sengoku ordered. "I want this taken care of before it becomes a major issue."


End file.
